COMING HOME

Dedication: This is for Ficwriter93. Thanks for reading my fics and leaving encouraging reviews. :-)

Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or The Flash or the characters in those shows.

Chapter 1

Felicity knew what her friends were doing, and she was more than touched. She was grateful that she had a bunch of people in her life that genuinely cared; otherwise, she would probably go crazy in times like these when she felt most alone and anxious. She didn't know what she would do if she had to endure missing Oliver and worrying about him all by herself.

Iris, Caitlyn, and Dinah had gone out of their way to cheer her up. Iris had used her last day of paid leave at The Post. Caitlyn had requested for her interview – the final step in her application for med school – to be rescheduled. Dinah, a rookie cop in SCPD, had asked permission from her precinct's captain to swap shifts with another rookie, and her partner had obliged. The girls had told Felicity that she needed to take some time off and relax, get her mind off her worries, and just pamper herself in their company. It was something that they had not been able to do as friends as often as they used to, what with their new jobs and career choices now limiting the times that they could get together and just chill. And this was why the four of them were now sitting in comfy reclining chairs in one of the most expensive salons in downtown Central City, having their hair and nails done, fresh after getting soothing massages complete with aromatherapy. Felicity won't deny that all of the pampering certainly helped get her mind off her worries.

But in the middle of their casual conversation, Felicity heard Iris telling Caitlyn that the boys – meaning, their respective boyfriends – would be joining them for sandwiches and coffee at Jitters at six after they were done at the salon. At the mention of their significant others, Felicity had once again retreated to her go-to place for sulking and brooding. Felicity knew that her friend didn't mean to remind her about the fact that Barry, Ronnie, and Vince were actually here in the city and were just a phone call or a text away from their girls, while her Oliver was risking his life every day in no man's land for love of country and in the name of democracy and could only get in touch with her using a satellite phone once a month; that is, if he was on the base and not on a mission somewhere top secret where he was most probably getting shot at or driving rough terrain avoiding landmines. No, Felicity was sure that Iris didn't mean to remind her that Oliver was halfway around the world in the U.S. protectorate of Kasnia, which had been overrun by rebels for almost a year now.

Ten months, two weeks, and two days. That was how long she and Oliver had been apart. And though there were rare opportunities to Skype or to talk to each other via sat phone, she missed him so much. Whenever she would ask Oliver when he thought he was coming back, he couldn't give her a definite answer, but she always understood. Her heart ached every time something about Kasnia was reported in the papers or on CNN.

But ten days ago, intense fretting and worrying had taken over her, so much so that she hadn't gotten more than two hours of sleep a day. Who could blame her? Felicity was sure that Iris, Caitlyn, or Dinah would have circles underneath their eyes like she did – as dark as a racoon's, or worse – if it was Barry, Ronnie, or Vince that was out there, risking life and limb, fighting somebody else's war. She was sure they, too, wouldn't have much of an appetite, not even for Big Belly Burger. They, too, would be staring in front of their computer, of the paperwork on their desks, or of whatever it was that they were being paid to do in their respective jobs, just like she had been unable to focus on her work at Star Labs.

Her boss, Dr. Wells, had noticed that something was going on with her, and so had Cisco, a common friend of Caitlyn and Iris through whom Felicity had been highly recommended for hiring for Star Labs' IT department. In fact, Cicso had been the one that shared with her friends about her increased difficulty in focusing on the job in the past few days, and to suggest that perhaps she needed some time off. And now that she thought about it, Felicity very much appreciated that her boss and co-worker, as well as her best friends, had cared enough about her personal life to reward her with an all-expense-paid day at the spa and salon. Ten days of tossing and turning in her bed at night and waking up because of disturbing dreams where Oliver was injured or captured by the enemy had taken their toll on her after all, and she was tired of pretending that she was okay when she was not.

Ten days ago, Oliver's unit had been dispatched on a dangerous, sensitive mission in the rebel-infested mountains of Kasnia, which had necessitated that the team go dark. It was only two days after that their base of operations had received word that the mission had been "officially successful," which by textbook definition was that there was minimal to no casualties involved. Through unofficial channels, though, the very influential Queen family had gotten wind that although a significant group of rebels had been neutralized, and although no member of the American contingent had died, there had been a few marines that were seriously injured. Through her and Oliver's friend, John Diggle, who was Moira Queen's personal bodyguard – and who was also a former marine and a close friend of Oliver's current CO – Felicity had squeezed out the information that, indeed, Oliver had been among the wounded.

That was the detail that Robert and Moira Queen had intentionally kept, not just from her, but also from Oliver's younger sister Thea and best friend Tommy Merlyn, apparently, to keep them from worrying. It was the same detail that she had left out when her friends called or visited and asked how she had been holding up these past days. She hadn't even told her mother, whom she was sure would take the first flight out of Vegas to be with her to make sure she was okay. Nothing that anyone could do or say – no matter how sincere or well-intentioned – could really comfort her.

Felicity wasn't asking for much, not even a body-tingling kiss (which, truth be told, she missed and craved for like her life depended on it) or to be wrapped in his strong, loving arms. She knew that the only way her heart could be comforted was for her to see the love of her life alive and well, to reach out and touch him through the screen of her tablet, and to gaze into his beautiful blues so that she could tell him how much she loves him one more time. Was that too much to ask? She didn't think so. And yet eight days more had passed, and still there was no word from Kasnia or from the Queens.

To be fair, Felicity had always known what she was getting into. She knew that the life of a marine – or anyone serving in the military, for that matter – wasn't easy. She knew that loving such a man wasn't easy. But she did anyway. She loved him with all her heart, by choice.

Way back in high school when she had developed a crush on her friend, and in time, he had finally reciprocated her unrequited feelings and asked her to be his girl, Oliver had always been vocal about his dream of serving the country as a marine. His parents had tried to dissuade him, but he was determined to follow through. Felicity hadn't tried to get in his way, because she truly wanted him to be happy, and she knew that he wouldn't be happy if he had pursued a business degree in the university and joined his family's Fortune 500 company like his parents had wanted. She had always known that his happiness would hurt her in one way or another because his life would always be on the line. But she believed that that was what love was really all about – wanting what was best for the other, not the self. She supported him all the way – until his graduation from marine training and all the way up to his deployment to Kasnia.

Even while they'd been apart for months, when she had gone off to Boston and pursued her own dreams in computer science and cyber security at MIT and he left for marine training in Camp Pendleton, California, nothing could keep them apart. Long distance relationships were hard, so they were told, and they had tried breaking up more than once "for their own good," as some well-meaning family and friends had advised. Yet still, they had always found their way back to each other. Felicity and Oliver had both known that they were endgame. Upon their graduation, they had promised each other never to break up again, not even when Oliver broke the news of his deployment to Kasnia at around the time Felicity had gotten the job in Central City where her long-time high school friends had also settled to pursue their careers.

To be honest, Felicity was trying hard to enjoy herself at the moment in the company of her friends, who, in turn, were trying their best to cheer her up. They'd been avoiding mentioning anything remotely connected to Oliver or Kasnia, except for that unconscious slip up when Iris told Caitlyn that the guys were meeting up with them at Jitters later. Felicity tried to distract herself from thoughts of Oliver by picking from a number of chic nail polish colors and by looking through magazines to help her decide on how she wanted the stylist to do her hair after the treatments. She even asked her friends about how they were doing in their respective jobs and told stories about the different projects she was working on at Star Labs.

But later on, a news flash came on cable TV that caught the attention of all the ladies in the salon. CNN reported that heavy gunfire had broken out in the capital city of Kasnia as rebel groups attacked in retaliation for the attack of U.S. forces on one of their major installations in the mountains more than a week ago. Residents of the northern side of the city were being evacuated as rumors of bombings by rebel troops were supposed to ensue anytime there. U.S. military troops stationed elsewhere (including the base where Oliver's unit was stationed) were now being sent to reinforce the troops in the city.

Felicity's heart rate picked up, and by the time the news report came to an end, her heart was pounding heavily in her chest. Her palms were sweaty, and her lips quivered, not knowing whether she should scream or cry. She didn't even notice that she had already stood up halfway through the report, forcing the girl that was almost done straightening her hair to let go of the last section of her blonde tresses, and causing the other girl that was painting her pinky nail a teal green to miss, painting her knuckle instead. She didn't notice that her eyes had begun to pool with unshed tears, for even if her vision was getting blurry, her hearing captured every word that was being broadcasted live from the other side of the world.

Felicity also didn't notice when Iris pulled out her phone from her purse and speed-dialed Barry an emergency message for the guys that were waiting at Jitters across the street from the salon. It said: "Change of plans, guys. You gotta come. NOW."

A/N: It would be nice to know what you think of this story. I was watching a YouTube video of soldiers coming home from deployment to surprise their girlfriends. The 10-minute clip made me tear up, and that's when I got the idea for this ficlet that I just had to write. Excited to find out how the story ends? Let me know what you think.

Here's the link for the video: watch?v=QmAjLJ4TOds